Concomitant infections are common in nature and often involve parasites. A number of examples of the interactions between protozoa and viruses, protozoa and bacteria, protozoa and other protozoa, protozoa and helminths, helminths and viruses, helminths and bacteria, and helminths and other helminths are described. In mixed infections the burden of one or both the infectious agents may be increa...

Trypanosomes are unicellular protozoa and members of the order kinetoplastida, a highly divergent branch of the eukaryota which probably separated from the mammalian lineage ~3 x 10 years ago. Pathogenic trypanosomatids include the causative agents for Chagas’ disease or South American trypanosomiasis and Kala Azar or Leishmaniasis. They are equally divergent from the Apicomplexan protozoa that...

When buffalo were fed once daily, significant diurnal variations in concentration of rumen ciliates and occurrence of dividing protozoa were found. Differences in proportions of dividing Entodinium- and Diplodinium-type ciliates were also observed. Results obtained suggest that the range of diurnal fluctuations in rumen protozoa concentration may be related to the percentage of dividing cells i...

The manipulation of rumen function through the removal of the ciliate protozoa has not resulted in consistent changes in ruminant production. Current research findings are discussed with particular emphasis given to the role of protozoa in fibre digestion in the rumen and the availability of protein for intestinal digestion. Dietary conditions under which positive responses to defaunation can b...

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of presence or absence of protozoa on rumen fermentation and efficiency of microbial protein synthesis under different diets. Of 20 twin paired lambs, 1 lamb of each pair was isolated from the ewe within 24 h after birth and reared in a protozoa-free environment (n = 10), whereas their respective twin-siblings remained with the ewe (faunated, ...

The Formosan subterranean termite; Coptotermes formosanus is nutritionally dependent on the complex and diverse community of bacteria and protozoa in their gut. Although, there have been many studies to decipher the taxonomic and functional diversity of bacterial communities in the guts of termites, their bacteriophages remain unstudied. We sequenced the metavirome of the guts of Formosan subte...

The aim of this study was to investigate the evolution of protozoa numbers in two types of rumensimulating fermenters [single-flow continuous culture fermenters (SFCCF) and semi-continuous flow fermenters (Rusitec)] receiving high-forage diets. Ruminal inoculum from sheep and goat were used in SFCCF trials, whereas only sheep inoculum was used for Rusitec fermenters. In both systems incubation ...

Legionella pneumophila proliferates in aquatic habitats within free-living protozoa, 17 species of which have been identified as hosts by using in vitro experiments. The present study aimed at identifying protozoan hosts for L. pneumophila by using a biofilm batch test (BBT). Samples (600 ml) collected from 21 engineered freshwater systems, with added polyethylene cylinders to promote biofilm f...

Protozoan contamination in produce is of growing importance due to their capacity cause illnesses consumers fresh leafy greens. Viability assays are essential accurately estimate health risk caused by viable parasites that contaminate food. We evaluated the efficacy reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), propidium monoazide coupled with (q)PCR, and viability staining using iodide thr...

Isotopic tracer experiments were conducted in vitro to determine contribution of protozoa toward the biosynthesis of lysine in the rumen microbial ecosystem. The presence of protozoa in a rumen microbial suspension always increased lysine synthesis from aspartate. Rumen contents from a faunated goat produced a higher amount of lysine than did those from a defaunated one.